If someone who didn't watch Monday's game happened to glance at the box score, scanning only numbers without the corresponding names, he might have assumed this pitching line belonged to Cleveland's bullpen ace Andrew Miller: 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, one hit allowed, no walks, four strikeouts.

But no, that was Tyler Duffey. No one will confuse him with Miller anytime soon, but the right-hander is making his case as Minnesota's own bullpen ace.

Or is he making his case to reclaim a starting job?For some time, many fans have wondered just what Duffey might be capable of in the bullpen. I count myself among them. There were a number of factors suggesting he could be a strong fit in the late innings – namely his collegiate experience there and his two-pitch mix. The 26-year-old's struggles as a starter last year further supported the need for a switch.

Nevertheless, the Twins maintained an outward stance heading into spring that he'd be competing for a rotation spot. It appeared he was very much in that race up until the end of March, at which point the team announced Adalberto Mejia was going to be the fifth starter while Duffey would come north in a swingman-type capacity.

As it turns out, he's been the most reliable man in the bullpen through two-plus weeks. Duffey's stellar outing on Monday extended a season-opening scoreless streak to 8.2 innings, and during that span he's allowed only five hits (all singles) and one walk while striking out seven.

If this continues, the Twins will face a decision: consider giving him another shot at starting, or stick with what's working and allow Duffey to thrive in relief?

In a sense, it feels silly to even consider messing with the good thing he has going. Duffey's signature breaking ball has been straight-up nasty and has left batters shaking their heads. But of course, that's not really anything new.

The theoretical benefit behind using him in short relief stints was that it might play up his fastball, which was coming in like a beachball last summer and routinely got crushed. That might be occurring to some extent, but it's not like Duffey is suddenly whipping 96 MPH heaters in there. In fact, from early readings, his fastball is only up by about one MPH compared to his 2016 average. And it's not like he's consistently being leveraged in the kinds of quick-hit stints that would be conducive to max effort. He has thrown multiple innings in three of his four appearances, and racked up 32 pitches in his latest.

Maybe Duffey looks so good because he's more comfortable or adept in the bullpen. It could well be the case that his arsenal is gaining efficacy when he enters as a change-of-pace, replacing a starter or another reliever. Maybe that two-pitch combo simply works better when he's not trying to get through a lineup three times.

If his success is being driven by things of that nature, then Duffey could certainly keep it going in the rotation. While his ugly 2016 is fresh in our minds, it bears remembering that he was excellent as a starter for the Twins in 2015 and throughout the minors.

As things stand, he is in limbo to a degree. He has pitched only three times in the past 13 days. Unless and until there is a definitive commitment to him as a top setup option, his usage as a reliever figures to remain sporadic.

The manager, for his part, doesn't seem inclined to make this switch permanent. "For now," Paul Molitor said Tuesday in reference to Duffey's present assignment in the bullpen.

Personally, I'm not sure moving him back to the rotation is the right choice, particularly since Minnesota has five healthy and functional starters for the time being, plus a guy in Jose Berrios at Triple-A who is proving his readiness to step in.

But one way or another the Twins should decide on a defined role and leave it be.

I'd much rather have a dominant reliever that can go 2/3 innings than a #4 starter, and I'd guess Duffey would prefer to be one of the best relievers in baseball over being a middling starter. Everyone likes to have an important role that they can execute well and the key bullpen pitchers are heralded more than the back end rotation guys these days. It's not a step down by any means.

Find someone else to fill those back-end spots and let's see if Duffey can really carve out an anchor spot in the bullpen. The impact of having a reliever that can salvage short (but not yet hopeless) starts without burning half the bullpen is pretty huge in the modern game.

With a really savvy catcher, Tyler Duffey could be an excellent starting pitcher. First, Duffey should embrace his unique gift of a mind-bending curve ball. Expand on its use, throw it at many different speeds, using the fastball mainly to surprise hitters that are clearly waiting for the curve.

Meanwhile, the guy that should hit the pen is Kyle Gibson. Mr. Nibbles needs to learn to just throw the dang ball for strikes, and nothing teaches that like being a relief pitcher. I'd swap Gibson and Duffey before I called up Berrios.

With only 2 pitches, Duffey is a reliever. And at this point, I think that's where he belongs. Oh, there will be a couple SP positions opening some time this year.

Longterm: Santana

Looking good: Santiago, Mejía (hopefully)

I don't have much confidence in either Gibson or Hughes. Gibson's salary is small enough that I'd be tempted to just release him, if necessary. Hughes still has THAT contract. With yesterday's start, I'd think seriously about sending him to the bullpen.

Callup: Berrios and Gonsalves. I think the latter needs to be added to the 40 man, right?

Callup: Berrios and Gonsalves. I think the latter needs to be added to the 40 man, right?

Gonsalves has that shoulder issue that they just took a look at, and tests came back negative. He's not ready for this jump yet, anyway.Berrios still needs a couple more starts, and I think they'll give Gibson and Hughes at least two more months to figure things out.One of the five is bound to get injured in the next few weeks, which will allow them to slot a hungry and more proven Berrios into the rotation.

Leave it to Molitor to want to mess with what's working. Keep him in the pen and give Berrios the chance if it comes to it. A two pitch mix is not going to work in the rotation. That's already been proven.

Lets not mess with another pitcher like we did May and go back and forth with tantalizing suggestions that he could be a starter but is a reliever now. He was a reliever and he is doing well - don't mess with success. Right now Haley, Breslow, Tonkin, Belisle look like replacement level at best pitchers. I do not trust Pressly to be consistent and Rogers and Kintzler look good. If you take Duffey out of this mix it looks really bad for the long run.

On the other hand Mejia and Santiago (to my shock) have looked decent in the rotation behind Santana who is off the charts in the small sample size while Hughes and Gibson look like what they have been the last two years - not much. I would love to see Berrios again, but putting Duffey in the rotation limits his use and impacts the pen while doing only minimum to upgrade the rotation.

At this point Duffey is a starter only if we run out of starters. So if we think of rotations needing 7 - 8 starters to make it through the season and Berrios is currently number 6 and Gonsalves is an injury risk, who are numbers 7 and 8?

Guess I'm more on the lines of letting him be in relief for now, but given the org's depth at SP, I'd want him to try it again at some point. If this turns into a lost season so to speak, I think stretching him back out in AAA for a couple weeks and then trying him again at starter with all of these changes is a smart decision. If he fails, then we know he's a reliever for good...

There is some really good stuff here about how to best use RPs.....ignoring the snark (which I love) and if WPA or this are a better stat....lots of good stuff. This convinces me that Duffey should have the old time fireman role.

Guess I'm more on the lines of letting him be in relief for now, but given the org's depth at SP, I'd want him to try it again at some point. If this turns into a lost season so to speak, I think stretching him back out in AAA for a couple weeks and then trying him again at starter with all of these changes is a smart decision. If he fails, then we know he's a reliever for good...

when? he's not young, and going back and forth means you don't get to develop as a SP.

I don't know, it is a site to discuss sports, not airline safety.....maybe we should take it less seriously?

Guess I'm more on the lines of letting him be in relief for now, but given the org's depth at SP, I'd want him to try it again at some point. If this turns into a lost season so to speak, I think stretching him back out in AAA for a couple weeks and then trying him again at starter with all of these changes is a smart decision. If he fails, then we know he's a reliever for good...

Me, I'm pretty tired of the Twins "trying" players.

I want them to start "playing" players. Good players. Players capable of winning.

I don't want to wait around endlessly for Danny Santana to try to get good at baseball. I don't want to waste more years thinking Gibson is going to develop skills he doesn't have.

And I don't want to take a guy successful at one thing and waste a year or two trying to for something else. Find succesful starters. That's how you fill out the rotation.

Duffy most certainly did not suck as a starter. His rookie year he was nothing short of awesome. Last year he lacked fine fastball control and maybe lost a half tick of velocity. This is the extremely fine line he walks, and I wonder why it's worth skirting that pencil thin threshhold. He is clearly comfortable and successful in the pen. That 1 mph FB increase the article alluded to could be huge for a pitcher with Duffy's repertoire. It's easier to maintain fastball control in shorter stints. All signs point to letting him stay in the pen. Let him excell and pay him like an elite RP. Everybody wins.